Daily Briefing

Israeli tanks and troops press towards Gaza City, Putin revokes Russia's ratification of a nuclear test ban treaty, and Storm Ciaran lashes northern Europe with strong winds and rain.

Plus, how an unarmed youth was shot by the Nigerian military.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Palestinians search for casualties a day after Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Masri

ISRAEL AND HAMAS AT WAR

Israeli tanks and troops pressed towards Gaza City earlier today but met fierce resistance from Hamas militants using mortars and hit-and-run attacks from tunnels as the Palestinian death toll mounted and foreign passport-holders were being allowed out. Follow the latest on the conflict.
Israeli forces killed another Hamas commander in their second strike on a Gaza refugee camp, the military said. Palestinians sifted through rubble in a hunt for trapped victims. Reuters' James Mackenzie explains how Israel’s justification for the airstrikes sparked a debate over the rules of war. Listen here.
Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, already at a more than 15-year high this year, surged further after Israel hurtled into a new war in the separate enclave of Gaza. Settler-related violence is becoming harder to stem with the war and the augmented power of far-right politicians, Israeli security experts say.

IN OTHER NEWS

Vladimir Putin signed off on a law revoking Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a move he says is designed to bring Moscow into line with the US. Russia says that it will not resume testing unless Washington does and that its de-ratification does not change its nuclear posture.
China lowered its flag in Beijing's Tiananmen Square amid an outpouring of grief as the country cremated Li Keqiang, known as "the people's premier" for his down-to-earth, hands-on leadership. Li, a pro-reform leader who served as premier for 10 years before retiring in March, died of a heart attack last Friday.
Storm Ciaran smashed into northern Europe with strong winds and driving rain, killing one person in France and forcing the closure of airports, rail and ferry services, and schools. In Britain, the Channel Islands were among the worst hit areas, with Southern England also badly affected.
Air pollution, a global scourge that kills millions of people a year, is shielding us from the full force of the sun. Getting rid of it will accelerate climate change. That's the unpalatable conclusion reached by scientists poring over the results of China's "war on pollution", according to six leading climate experts.

Business & Markets

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as policymakers struggled to determine whether financial conditions may be tight enough already to control inflation, or whether an economy that continues to outperform expectations may need still more restraint. Bruised Treasury bulls saw a glimmer of hope.
In more news from central banks, the Bank of England looks set to hold borrowing costs at a 15-year high and signal that it does not plan to cut them anytime soon as it remains locked in a battle against the most elevated inflation rate among the world's rich economies.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government will spend over 17 trillion yen ($113 billion) on a package of measures to cushion the economic blow from inflation. Including spending by local governments and state-backed loans, the size of the package will total 21.8 trillion yen.
A Canadian start-up run from a private home was chosen by the Democratic Republic of Congo for a technically complex project to extract methane from the deep waters of a volatile lake, despite the company not meeting the tender's financial criteria, documents seen by Reuters show.
Global brewers AB InBev and Carlsberg this week played down concerns among some investors that demand for weight-loss drugs may lead to a sharp drop in beer drinking. Huge demand for new treatments such as Wegovy has prompted questions about the implications for a range of industries.

How an unarmed youth was shot by the Nigerian military

Reuters and Bellingcat analyzed rare video footage of a young detainee summarily slain by a military gunman on the day of a battle against insurgents in Nigeria's northeast. Three experts in international law deem the 2015 shooting a war crime. Nigerian officials previously have denied committing abuses in the conflict.

Read our full investigation. (Warning: The story contains disturbing content.)

And Finally...

Professor Sean Kammer's course The Taylor Swift Effect looks to be the first law school class based on the musical icon. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

When law professor Sean Kammer's friends told him they were skeptical about his upcoming course focused on Taylor Swift at the University of South Dakota, it was his chance to do what any Swiftie would do: Shake it off. “I understand this sounds ridiculous, at least at first glance,” said Kammer. “But it’s not.”